The Yankees have no shortage of intriguing pitching prospects, but one arm in particular is making a compelling case for attention this spring.
Eric Reyzelman, a 23-year-old right-hander, might not have eye-popping traditional stats—his 6.75 ERA across 5.1 innings doesn’t exactly dazzle at first glance—but there’s much more beneath the surface.
Reyzelman’s underlying numbers are impossible to ignore. He’s racked up an astonishing 18.56 strikeouts per nine innings this spring. Just this past Tuesday afternoon, he struck out the side against the Boston Red Sox in a dominant inning of work.
Minor-League Excellence Points to Big-League Potential
Last season in the Yankees’ minor-league system, Reyzelman consistently flashed elite potential. He didn’t allow a single earned run in 9.2 innings at High-A Tampa and carried that success into Double-A, where he posted a stellar 1.93 ERA over 23.1 innings.
But what makes Reyzelman truly special is his ability to overwhelm hitters. With 14.27 strikeouts per nine innings last year, he combined power and precision, leaving batters frustrated and stranded on base 87.3% of the time.
A Slider That Could Become Legendary
According to Ryan Garcia of Empire Sports Media, the pitch that sets Reyzelman apart is his sweeping slider, which features a remarkable 20 inches of lateral movement. That’s like trying to hit a pitch that suddenly jumps two full baseball widths as it approaches the plate—borderline unfair for opposing hitters.
Combined with his powerful fastball, Reyzelman has a two-pitch combo built to dominate late-inning situations.
Health Is the Only Real Question
The talent has always been there for Reyzelman, who generated plenty of excitement coming out of LSU. But injuries have slowed him down in the past, turning his journey into something of a stop-and-start experience.
The Yankees know exactly what they have: a potential star reliever waiting to break out. If Reyzelman can stay healthy and keep building on this momentum, the Yankees might have discovered their next homegrown bullpen gem.